Compensation of employees (% of expense) in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Compensation of employees (% of expense) was 26.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Compensation of employees in Costa Rica, 1973–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2023, compensation of employees in Costa Rica stood at 26.8%. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.
That represents a change of down 4.2% on the previous year and down 43.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compensation of employees in Costa Rica peaked at 55.7% in 1973 and was at its lowest, 26.8%, in 2023.
That places Costa Rica 72nd out of 155 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.
Compensation of employees (% of expense) in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 55.7% | — |
| 1974 | 54.3% | -2.6% |
| 1976 | 55.3% | +1.9% |
| 1977 | 51.1% | -7.7% |
| 1978 | 49.8% | -2.4% |
| 1979 | 50.8% | +2.0% |
| 1980 | 51.5% | +1.3% |
| 1981 | 52.8% | +2.5% |
| 1982 | 47.6% | -9.7% |
| 1983 | 41.4% | -13.1% |
| 1984 | 39.2% | -5.2% |
| 1985 | 39.9% | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 32.8% | -17.6% |
| 1987 | 38.5% | +17.2% |
| 1988 | 44.4% | +15.4% |
| 1989 | 45.4% | +2.3% |
| 1990 | 45.3% | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 43.7% | -3.6% |
| 1992 | 42.4% | -3.1% |
| 1993 | 40.9% | -3.4% |
| 1994 | 35.7% | -12.7% |
| 1995 | 38.3% | +7.1% |
| 1996 | 37.0% | -3.3% |
| 1997 | 37.4% | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 38.4% | +2.9% |
| 1999 | 39.0% | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 39.9% | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 39.2% | -1.7% |
| 2002 | 40.9% | +4.4% |
| 2003 | 42.9% | +4.8% |
| 2004 | 42.6% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 41.4% | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 42.0% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 41.6% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 44.0% | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 45.6% | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 48.0% | +5.2% |
| 2011 | 49.2% | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 47.7% | -3.0% |
| 2013 | 47.5% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 46.2% | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 43.4% | -6.1% |
| 2016 | 45.2% | +4.0% |
| 2017 | 46.9% | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 41.4% | -11.8% |
| 2019 | 31.6% | -23.6% |
| 2020 | 30.8% | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 29.0% | -6.0% |
| 2022 | 27.9% | -3.5% |
| 2023 | 26.8% | -4.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 26.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 18.9%, 1.4× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 26.8% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 32.0%, 84% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 52.8% | 49.8% | 55.7% | 6 |
| 1980s | 43.3% | 32.8% | 52.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 39.8% | 35.7% | 45.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 42.0% | 39.2% | 45.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 44.7% | 31.6% | 49.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.6% | 26.8% | 30.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More public sector data for Costa Rica
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Arms imports 8.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2019)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 1.6 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2019)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2019)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 8.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compensation of employees in Costa Rica?
- Compensation of employees in Costa Rica was 26.8% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest compensation of employees recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 55.7% in 1973.
- What is the lowest compensation of employees recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.8% in 2023.
- How does Costa Rica rank for compensation of employees?
- Costa Rica ranks 72nd out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is compensation of employees rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Compensation of employees (% of expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.